Alumni Entrepreneurs Shape the Athens Food Scene
Behind local staples like Sunroof Coffee and Baddie’s Burger House are UGA graduates who’ve become Athens tastemakers
Anyone walking around Athens—on a Saturday morning, on a weekday at lunchtime, especially on a game day—is bound to work up an appetite for the town’s tempting eats and drinks.
What the average Athens visitor doesn’t know, though, is that two of the Classic City’s trendiest culinary spots came from the hard work, ingenuity, and determination of University of Georgia graduates.
Sunroof Coffee began as a window-service cafe near Barber Street. Now, it also serves its seasonal specialties and daily drip brews through a hip location downtown, tucked away off Clayton Street. Baddie’s Burger House, meanwhile, is harder to miss, with its classic bright red brand, innovative pudding flavors, and juicy triple-decker burgers earning ravenous fans from Watkinsville to Gainesville.
From a Research Project to a Coffee Community
While studying at the Terry College of Business, Reid Finnegan and Nick Alliston became friends through Phi Slam, an organization that hosts substance-free events off campus. When they weren’t organizing backyard shindigs, Finnegan studied marketing and management, while Alliston studied economics and finance.
Before long, they realized the complementary potential of their skill sets. In 2022, they teamed up for the UGA Entrepreneurship Program’s Summer Launch Program, a 10-week, research-based experience that helps aspiring entrepreneurs create viable business plans. Having developed an interest in the culture and science of coffee, they proposed launching a coffee shop and conducted all the necessary market research.
The project had potential, but as their senior year went on, they each focused on finding corporate jobs that matched their majors. After graduation, though, Alliston couldn’t find the right fit and wondered if their old coffee shop idea was worth pursuing.
He approached Finnegan, saying: “I think I want to start a coffee shop.”
His friend didn’t hesitate: “I’m in. I’ve been thinking about the same thing.”
“Athens really appreciates small business. This is the right place, and it’s also a place that we love.”
Reid Finnegan,
Sunroof Coffee
Having already explored their market, the duo started Sunroof Coffee with a small window-service shop that catered to coffee connoisseurs and everyday drinkers alike. They soon opened their second location downtown, creating more opportunities to spend time with customers and nurture the local community through a top-tier product.
“We wanted to send people out on their day on a quality note and have them walk out the door with a really high-quality product,” Finnegan says.
Building a Burger Brand Powerhouse
Anyone in Athens hankering for something more substantial than a breakfast brew might stop by a nearby burger place. If they choose the one with the classic red-and-white branding and tongue-in-cheek name—Baddie’s Burger House—they’ll chow down thanks to another UGA entrepreneur: Joe Nedza.
Before he graduated with a business administration degree from Terry, Nedza worked odd jobs in the local restaurant scene until he found culinary inspiration during a trip to New York in 2015. At the time, bubble waffles—egg-based waffles with a unique look—were all the rage. Thinking they’d be a hit in Athens, he started Nedza’s Waffles and went from a simple stand to a brick-and-mortar store in the Five Points neighborhood within a year.
“I had never baked a pancake in my life, had never cooked a thing,” Nedza says. “Then I learned how to make it, and I started selling waffles like crazy.”
Unfortunately, selling waffles wasn’t exactly efficient or fulfilling. Even after Nedza opened a second location, the process remained costly and labor-intensive. Something had to change. Forced to back down or invent a solution, he chose the latter, building a pared-back menu of smash burgers, fries, and banana pudding for a completely new venture: Baddie’s Burger House.
Like his waffle business, it started with a stand. Since then, “Baddie’s has just kind of gone nuts,” Nedza says.
Now with four locations and thousands of burgers sold each year, he attributes much of the brand’s success to the opportunities, connections, and skills he garnered while at UGA. “UGA gave me a lot of tools, or at least access to the toolshed,” he says. “I think it was wildly helpful.”
Courage Drives Small Business, Small Business Builds Community
As an undergraduate, Nedza didn’t know what he wanted to do with his career, but he identified himself as a leader and innovator. Whether switching to a new major (he tried several) or building a new menu, he’s always been drawn to the unknown.
That risk-friendly mindset has helped Nedza innovate, but grit brought him through COVID-19 quarantines, arduous workweeks, and grueling searches for investors. Now that his business is thriving, he can focus on serving his employees.
“We care about the whole person, and it’s not just lip service,” he says. “If we love our people, they’ll love our customers.”
Finnegan and Alliston of Sunroof Coffee faced similar challenges and unknowns, but they were also determined to see things through.
“You can’t just wait for the green light from someone else,” Finnegan says. “There’s no blueprint.”
Still, being part of Athens’s vibrant culture makes the uncertainties and challenges worth that extra effort.
“Athens really appreciates small business,” Finnegan says. “This is the right place, and it’s also a place that we love.”
Written by: Benjamin Allee
Photography: Chamberlain Smith & Dorothy Kozlowski
Design by: Kaiya Plagenhoef